Chapter 10 Chapter Seven Seventh Century BC

In this century, the war between feudal states has intensified, and the defeated have only two options: one is to beg for peace from the victorious country, and to be the tail country of the victorious country, which is the so-called "alliance under the city"; the other is to be the tail country but not Yes, it was annexed by the victorious country.In the early days of the Zhou Dynasty, the size of each feudal state was not much different. After continuous annexation, there was a huge disparity.The powerful feudal states continue to eat the weak feudal states and expand day by day, the number of small feudal states is reduced day by day due to continuous eating, and the small feudal states that have not yet fallen are also shrinking due to continuous encroachment.

Within the feudal country, affected by the impact of the international community and land annexation, the monarch was constantly exiled or killed by the enemy country or by coups in his own country. However, the anarchic international community was soon incorporated into the hegemonic order.A super powerful feudal state, using its powerful military strength and prestige to replace the central government of the declining Zhou Dynasty, to exercise its power.On the one hand, it protects weak feudal states from the aggression of other powerful feudal states, and on the other hand, it protects the traditional interests of the monarch from offenses by domestic emerging forces. This form of hegemony has become the biggest feature of this century.

The Annexation of a Kingdom and the Chasing and Killing of the King (Part 1) No one knows how many feudal states the Zhou Dynasty belonged to.In the last period alone, as far as there are records, there are more than one hundred and seventy countries.These feudal states will never perish unless the king orders their revocation, or their descendants are cut off and destroyed naturally.However, in the last century (the first eight weeks), the Hu State fell to the Zheng State. In this century (the first seven), the powerful feudal states annexed a large number of neighboring small feudal states that were unable to defend themselves, such as:

1. Qi State annexed Tan State (Zhangqiu, Shandong), Chengyan State (Ningyang, Shandong), Zhang State (Dongzhang Township, Dongping, Shandong), Yang State (Yinan, Shandong), and Ji State (Jitai Village, Shouguang, Shandong) , Suiguo (southwest of Feicheng, Shandong), Suguo (east of Dongping, Shandong). 2. Jin State annexed Huo State (Huozhou, Shanxi), Wei State (Ruicheng, Shanxi), Geng State (Hejin, Shanxi), Guo State (Sanmenxia, ​​Henan), Fan State (Jiyuan, Henan), and Yu State (Pinglu, Shanxi). 3. The Di tribe annexed Weiguo (Qi County, Henan Province, and soon moved to Caoyi, that is, Hua County, Henan Province to restore the country, and then moved to Chuqiu, that is, east of Hua County, Henan Province, and soon moved to Diqiu, that is, Huaiyang County, Henan Province), Wen Guo (Wen County, Henan Province), Xing Guo (Xingtai, Hebei Province, soon moved to Yiyi, that is, Liaocheng Fuguo, Shandong).

4. Qin State annexed West Guo State (Baoji, Shaanxi), Liang State (Hancheng, Shaanxi), Rui State (Dali, Shaanxi), Hua State (southeast of Yanshi, Henan), and Ruoyan State (Xichuan, Henan. Soon in Shangdu, That is, Hubei Zhongxiang Northwest Fuguo), Shu Kingdom (Chengdu, Sichuan). 5. The Kingdom of Chu annexed Xi State (Xi County, Henan), Xian State (south of Xi County, Henan), Huang State (Huangchuan, Henan), Kui State (Zigui, Hubei), Jiang State (South of Zhengyang, Henan), and Six Kingdoms (Anhui Lu'an), Yongguo (Zhushan, Hubei), Baguo (Chongqing, Sichuan), Shenguo (Nanyang, Henan), Luguo (North of Nanyang, Henan), Zongguo (Lujiang, Anhui), Liaoguo (Northeast of Gushi, Henan), Shu State (southwest of Lujiang, Anhui), State of Shu Liao (south of Shucheng, Anhui), State of Deng (north of Xiangfan, Hubei).

Sixth, Zhu State annexed Xuju State (Shandong Dongping Xixuju City, the country will soon be restored). 7. Wei State annexed Xing State (Liaocheng, Shandong). 8. Lu State annexed Xiang State (Shenqiu, Henan), Xuju State (Xugu City, Dongping, Shandong), Rong State (northwest of Cao County, Shandong). There are more than 170 countries, most of which are too small and too unimportant.Some of them only appear once or several times in historical materials, and they are like disappearing into the sea.So in fact, only the following eleven feudal states and one kingdom played an important role in the Spring and Autumn Period:

Eyi (Xiangning, Shanxi), the capital of the Jin State, later moved to Jiangcheng (Yicheng, Shanxi) Linzi, the capital of Erqi State (East Linzi Town, Zibo, Shandong) Pingyang (East of Baoji, Shaanxi), the capital of the Three Qin Kingdom, later moved to Yongyi (Fengxiang, Shaanxi) Xinzheng, the capital of the Four Zheng Kingdoms (Xinzheng, Henan) Shangqiu, the capital of the Five Song Dynasty (Shangqiu, Henan) Qufu, the capital of the Six Lu Kingdoms (Qufu, Shandong) Diqiu, the capital of Qiwei State (Puyang, Henan) Wanqiu, the capital of Bachen Kingdom (Huaiyang, Henan) Shangcai, the capital of the Nine Cai Kingdoms (Shangcai, Henan)

Taoqiu, the capital of the Ten Cao Kingdom (Dingtao, Shandong) Xuqiu, the capital of Eleven Xu Kingdom (Xuchang, Henan) Zhijiang (Zigui, Hubei), the capital of the Twelve Kingdoms of Chu, later moved to Yingdu (Jiangling, Hubei) In the past, there was only one city or one village in the feudal country.After the beginning of this century (the first seven), the territory expanded, and more and more cities and villages were owned. Only the capitals of each feudal kingdom were established, and they gradually moved towards independent kingdoms. The mutual annexation among the feudal states and the resulting tension within the feudal states caused more than forty incidents of chasing and killing emperors in this century (the first seven).We can't describe them one by one, just list it as the following table instead of explaining.

The "prince" mentioned in the table refers to the son of the king of the feudal country, and the "prince" refers to the son of the king of the kingdom.However, it does not necessarily refer to the son of the current king. He may be the son of the previous king or a descendant of a certain king several generations ago; the so-called "son" and "prince" only indicate his aristocratic status. Now, we can see the panic of the rulers of the feudal country. They not only face the threat of being annexed by neighboring countries at any time, but also face the threat of being driven away and killed by domestic resistance forces at any time.Neither the king nor the central government was able to maintain the old order, and therefore their rites could not play a restrictive role.The reality is that power determines everything, whether in the international community or domestic society.

The rulers of the feudal country are eager to have a hero who upholds justice.Their so-called justice, of course, refers to protecting the existing feudal country from being annexed and protecting themselves from being expelled and killed.So some ambitious monarchs began to strive for this goal, and they stood out.They don't want to establish their own dynasty, nor do they want to unify China. They just want to establish hegemony and become a hegemony.Under this hegemonic political form, the overlord replaced the king of the Zhou Dynasty and the central government.The feudal state was supposed to have an audience with the king, but now it is instead an audience with the overlord.What should have been paid tribute to the king is now paid tribute to the overlord.Disputes and disputes should have been tried by the king, but now they are tried by the overlord.When they were invaded, they should have appealed to the king for help, but now they appealed to the overlord for help.The only reliance of the overlord is force rather than legal principles, so the position cannot be hereditary, and when the force is weakened, the hegemony is transferred and the qualification of the hegemony disappears.

25 bully In the Spring and Autumn Period, five hegemonies rose successively, which historians call the "Five Hegemonies of the Spring and Autumn Period", namely Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, and Wu.The first four countries appeared in this century (the first seven), and the latter country appeared in the next century (the first six).We summarize them in the following table. Every hegemony was powerful for a while, but none of them could extend to the whole of China—just as none of the hegemony in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries could extend to the whole world.They can only build power around themselves, the hegemony of Qi is in the east, the hegemony of Jin is in the north, the hegemony of Qin is in the west, and the hegemony of Chu and Wu is in the south.When Qi State dominates, Qin State will not be affected.When Chu Kingdom dominates, Qi State is not affected.The two countries of Qi and Qin are short-term hegemony. When the overlord dies, the hegemony will disappear.Only the Jin and Chu states were long-term hegemons, which lasted intermittently for more than a hundred years, and the struggle was very fierce.Hegemony is determined by force, and force is manifested in war.After a great battle, if the Jin State wins, the Jin State will become the hegemony.After another great war, if the Chu Kingdom wins, the Chu Kingdom will be hegemony, so the Spring and Autumn Period is also an era of international hegemony. The first of the five tyrants is Qi, and his monarch Jiang Xiaobai is a figure full of legends. Jiang Xiaobai's last monarch was his elder brother Jiang Zhu'er. Jiang Zhu'er was stubborn and determined to go his own way. The most absurd thing he did was to commit adultery with his younger sister Wen Jiang.Wen Jiang married Ji Yun, the king of the state of Lu. In 694 BC, Ji Yun and his wife visited the state of Qi, and the couple relived their old dreams.When Ji Yun found out about the scandal, she was furious and immediately resigned and returned home.Of course the brothers and sisters thought about what would happen when they returned to China, so they ordered the Hercules Peng Sheng to strangle Ji Yun to death when he helped him get into the car.Lu Guoming knew the inside story, but because his military strength was too weak, there was nothing he could do.They had no choice but to accuse Peng Sheng alone and demand that the murderer be punished.Jiang Zhu'er killed Peng Sheng, evading responsibility on the one hand, and silenced on the other.But people already smelled an ominous smell, and the princes fled one after another.One of them was Jiang Zhuer's younger brother Jiang Jiu and his adviser Guan Zhong, who defected to the State of Lu, and the other, Jiang Zhuer's younger brother Jiang Xiaobai and his adviser Bao Shuya, defected to the State of Ju (Juxian, Shandong). In the eighth year after Peng Sheng's death (686 BC), Jiang Zhu'er went hunting in the countryside and found a wild boar. Jiang Zhu'er even shot three arrows but failed to hit it.The wild boar suddenly raised its front hooves, stood up like a human, and let out a scream.Jiang Zhuer was horrified to see that the wild boar turned out to be the dead Peng Sheng, and he was knocked off his horse headlong, out of his wits.When he was rescued, a shoe was missing.That night, there was a mutiny against the commander of General Liancheng. When the rebels couldn't find Jiang Zhuer no matter how hard they searched, when they were about to give up their efforts, they saw the shoe next to a secret passage, so they grabbed Jiang Zhuer out and messed up. Knife kills.The folks firmly believe that the shoe was placed there by Peng Sheng's ghost. Lian Cheng established Jiang Wuzhi, Jiang Zhuer's cousin, as the king, and soon there was a coup, and Lian Cheng and Jiang Wuzhi were killed together.Jiang Jiao and Jiang Xiaobai, who were far away in a foreign country, got the news, and the countries where they lived respectively sent troops to escort them back to the country.This is a long-distance race. Whoever reaches the capital Linzi (East of Zibo, Shandong) first will become the leader of a country.Guan Zhong was afraid that Jiang Xiaobai would arrive first, so he chased after Jiang Xiaobai alone. On the way, he heard that Jiang Xiaobai was escorted by the army of Ju State, so he hurried on and finally caught up. Shoot an arrow.Jiang Xiaobai yelled, vomited blood, and fell from the car.Guan Zhong was overjoyed, got on his horse and fled. However, Jiang Xiaobai did not die, the arrow hit the copper hook on his waist belt.Guan Zhong is a famous sharpshooter. Jiang Xiaobai was afraid that he would shoot another arrow, so he fell down on purpose immediately. This is his superhuman wit.When he arrived in Linzi and sat on the throne, Jiang Jiao arrived, but it was too late.The Lu army launched an attack and was defeated again. They had to accept this reality and asked Jiang Xiaobai for reconciliation.Jiang Xiaobai's condition is: kill Jiang Jiaofu and send Guan Zhong - because of his arrow, he will be punished most severely.Lu Guo agreed, Jiang Jiu died, and Guan Zhong was imprisoned in a heavily guarded prison car and sent back to Linzi.No one would have thought that Jiang Xiaobai's most severe punishment for Guan Zhong was to appoint him as the prime minister of Qi. This highly dramatic move originated from the think tank Bao Shuya.Jiang Xiaobai initially asked Bao Shuya to be prime minister, and Bao Shuya strongly recommended Guan Zhong.Jiang Xiaobai released Guan Zhong from the prison car, and had a long talk with each other for three days and three nights.When the prime minister's order was published, everyone at home and abroad was shocked, especially the state of Lu, who immediately realized that he had been fooled.The hegemony of Qi State begins from then on, and Jiang Xiaobai's hegemony is Guan Zhong's hegemony. Jiang Xiaobai is just the body, and Guan Zhong is the soul.But Jiang Xiaobai is even greater because he can appoint Guan Zhong. The Rise and Fall of the Hegemony of the Three Qi Kingdoms Jiang Xiaobai is the most praised overlord. During his 40 years of dominance, he has convened 26 international peace conferences and dispatched troops 28 times. The earthy atmosphere and aristocratic chivalry, and these are no longer seen in later overlords.Jiang Xiaobai's military strength is not overwhelming. He has attacked Lu State twice and was defeated both times.But he finally made the Lu State realize that it is a misfortune to be an enemy of a powerful neighboring country, although victory is also a misfortune, so he recognized the hegemony of the Qi State. Jiang Xiaobai's political call is to "respect the king and fight against the barbarians", that is, respect the king of the Zhou Dynasty and reject the barbarians.Few people remember the king who was neglected in a corner of Luoyi (Luoyang).Now Jiang Xiaobai finds him out of the waste bin again and puts him on the noble altar. Every alliance and every military operation is claimed to be ordered by the central government, and the king's special envoy sits at the head to prove that Indeed.This approach is not harmful to anyone, but it can reduce jealousy and reduce the inferiority of each country.Because of their vested interests, the ruling class has returned to the good old days of being respected, so they are happy to accept the leadership of this false king and real overlord. As for the rejection of the barbarians, the most serious at that time was the invasion of the Rongdi tribe.After the fall of the Zhou government, the pressure of the Rongdi tribe all fell on the adjacent feudal states, and it was difficult for a single feudal state to resist.This kind of arduous responsibility that must gather greater forces to save the nation is now borne by the overlord, and Jiang Xiaobai has become the protector of Chinese civilization. "Respecting the king" is easy, as long as you are enthusiastic about the ceremony, Jiang Xiaobai does it the best and the most lively.But "removing the barbarians" is heavy, and it requires strength, but there are at least four things that are his achievements. First, the Shanrong tribe in the north attacked the State of Yan (Beijing) in 664 BC, and the State of Yan asked for help from the State of Qi.Jiang Xiaobai personally went to help and defeated the Shanrong tribe.This is a decisive victory, so that the country of Yan will have no serious foreign troubles in the next hundred years.After Jiang Xiaobai won the victory, he retreated immediately. The King of Yan saw off his guests and unknowingly sent them to the border of Qi. Jiang Xiaobai immediately ceded that piece of land to Yan according to the ancient rule of "the king does not leave the country". Second, the Di tribe attacked Weiguo (Qi County, Henan Province) in 660 BC.Wei Chi, the monarch of the state of Wei, is an excellent member of the Animal Protection Association, but not an excellent monarch.He loves raising cranes the most. Each crane has an official position and enjoys a rich salary, but the people are poor. When the Di tribe launched an attack and Wei Chi recruited people to join the army, the people shouted: "Let the cranes go to war. "After the Di tribe captured Wei, they boiled and ate Wei Chi.Weiguo collapsed too quickly, and the overlord did not have time to rescue him, but Jiang Xiaobai still built a new capital in Caoyi (Hua County, Henan Province), 40 kilometers to the east, for its remnant people. Third, the Di tribe attacked Xing State (Xingtai, Hebei) in the next year (659 BC) after their complete victory, and Xing State fell again.Qi State also built a new city for it in Yiyi (Liaocheng, Shandong) to collect disabled people. Fourth, the allied forces of Qi State and his allied states went on an expedition to Hanshui in 656 BC to show their might to the Chu Kingdom, which was constantly advancing northward.Qu Wan, an envoy of the Kingdom of Chu, went to the headquarters of the coalition forces and asked, "Qi is in the North Sea, and Chu is in the South China Sea. Horses and cows have nothing to do with each other. What are you doing here?" Jiang Xiaobai said; "Since Chu claims to be Why is one of the feudal states of China unwilling to pay tribute? The cause of death is unknown when King Ji Xia (King Xuan of Zhou) went south, please reply?" ——Jiang Xiaobai's question must be annotated.In order to implement the policy of marching northward, the Kingdom of Chu yanked relations with the Chinese. It once advertised that they were descendants of Zhu Rong (later the god of fire), an official of the Yellow Emperor Dynasty.As for Ji Xia's drowning, it was an ancient story more than three hundred years ago. Qu Wan replied, "I'm sorry about the tribute. A cart of thatch is nothing. They will pull a cart to go immediately."As for the death of the great king Ji Xia, they don't know the reason. If Qi State must investigate the reason, Qu Wan suggested to ask Han Shui directly.Jiang Xiaobai obviously didn't dare to fight against the Chu Kingdom, so he only raised two nonsense questions that were nonsense.So he immediately expressed his satisfaction with Qu Wan's answer and returned in triumph.This is the famous "Zhaoling Meeting" (Zhaoling, Yancheng, Henan). Although it was anticlimactic, it was the first time that the Chu Kingdom's northward policy was blocked. In 645 BC, Guan Zhong passed away. When Guan Zhong was critically ill, he warned Jiang Xiaobai that his three cronies Shu Diao, Yi Ya, and Wei Kaifang must not allow them to hold political power. —— Shu Diao, Jiang Xiaobai's most trusted eunuch, he was not an eunuch, but he voluntarily accepted the castration in order to serve his beloved monarch personally.Yi Ya is an expert in cooking.One day, Jiang Xiaobai said, "I've eaten everything, except human flesh." For dinner that day, there was a plate of steamed meat, which was extremely delicious.Jiang Xiaobai praised him greatly, and Yi Ya said: "This is the meat of my three-year-old son. I heard that loyal ministers don't care about his family, so I dedicated it to the king." Jiang Xiaobai has not returned home for fifteen years.Jiang Xiaobai was very moved by the loyalty shown by these three characters. Guan Zhong analyzed: "Human nature is like this. There is no one who does not love himself more than others. If he is cruel to his own body, wouldn't he be more cruel to others! There is no one who does not love his children. If he can be cruel, who can he not be cruel to? There is no one who doesn't love his parents. If he doesn't want to see his parents for fifteen years, even his parents are forgotten, who will not forget his parents? In the back of my head?" Jiang Xiaobai asked: "These three people have been with me for a long time, why didn't you mention it before?" Guan Zhong said: "The king should enjoy his hobbies in his private life, otherwise it would be no fun to be a king, but these Hobbies must not interfere with state affairs. Before I die, I can prevent them. After I die, I am afraid they will collapse like a flood." Jiang Xiaobai has been under the guidance of Guan Zhong all his life, only this matter he greatly disapproves of. Two years later, in 643 BC, Jiang Xiaobai became seriously ill and couldn't get up.Shu Diao and Yi Ya realized that Jiang Xiaobai was useless and his allegiance could no longer bring benefits, so they decided to kill the prince Jiang Zhao and support Jiang Xiaobai's other son Jiang Wukui, so that they could naturally obtain the high position of prime minister.So he issued an order to prohibit anyone from entering or leaving the palace. Three days later, Jiang Xiaobai was still alive, Shu Diao and Yi Ya were furious, and drove away all the people who served Jiang Xiaobai.Around the palace, walls were built to isolate the inside and outside. Jiang Xiaobai had to starve to death on his bed.After starving to death, flies swarmed, and the corpse rotted and maggoted.It was not until the number of maggots climbed out of the wall that people thought that the hero was dead. What happened later was that the crown prince Jiang Zhao fled to Song State (Shangqiu, Henan Province), Shu Diao and Yi Ya supported Jiang Wukui, Wei Kaifang supported another son Jiang Pan, and the other two sons Jiang Shang, Jiang Yuan, etc. They also claimed to be kings one after another, and the four kings each claimed to be the legal heirs. They fought in the capital Linzi and fought until next year (before June 42), when the Song army escorted Jiang Zhao back to the country, and the chaos was finally over.However, Qi's hegemony came to an end.The only consolation is that, relying on the foundation of the rule of law established by Guan Zhong, although Qi's military strength is weak, it has always been a political power and a first-class power.When Jin's hegemony was at its peak, it could only regard Qi as an ally, and dare not treat Qi as a tail country. Long-term hegemony of the Four Jin Kingdoms The hegemony of Qi State did not fall behind, and the hegemony of Jin State rose. Jin Guojun Ji Guizhu has three sons, the eldest son Ji Shensheng has been established as the prince, the second son Ji Chonger, and the third son Ji Yiwu.Later, Ji Guizhu married sister Li Ji and gave birth to Ji Xiqi and Ji Zhuozi.With the ambition to seize power, Li Ji decided to seize the heir - to seize the position of the heir of the eldest son.Seizing the heir apparent would definitely cause bloodshed, but Li Ji was willing to take the risk.However, few old husbands can escape from the clutches of young and beautiful step-wives. Ji Guizhu agreed that Li Ji should seize the heir apparent, so he killed Ji Shensheng.His two younger brothers, Ji Chong'er and Ji Yiwu, fled to foreign countries respectively when they saw that their father had gone mad and dehumanized.In 651 BC, Ji Guizhu passed away, and the eleven-year-old Ji Xiqi succeeded to the throne.Li Ji's style of work has long aroused the anger of the nobles. Once her father died, the iceberg collapsed. Only two months later, Minister Rick launched a coup and Ji Xiqi was killed.It was only two months after Li Ji established Ji Zhuozi again, Rick launched a second coup, and Ji Zhuozi and Li Ji were killed at the same time. Ji Yiwu, who fled in Liang State (Hancheng, Shaanxi Province), heard the news, but he was afraid that his elder brother Ji Chonger, who had fled to Zhai State (northwest of Jixian County, Shanxi Province), would return home before him, so he asked the king of Qin State and his brother-in-law Ying Ren to welcome him. For help, five cities are allowed to be cut off as a reward.Ying Renhao sent troops to escort Ji Yiwu back.But Ji Yiwu immediately reneged on his promise after sitting in the Golden Luan Hall.In 645 B.C., the state of Qin attacked aggressively, and Ji Yiwu was defeated and captured. Fortunately, his sister pleaded for him and did not kill him, but instead released him. Yu went to Qin as a hostage. Yingren treats Ji Yu like his own son, and marries his beloved daughter Huaiying to him.However, five years later, in 638 B.C., when Ji Yu heard that his father was critically ill, fearing that other brothers would seize the throne when his father died, Ji Yu was so anxious that he abandoned Huai Ying and fled back to the state of Jin privately. Greatly outraged.He thinks that both father and son are ungrateful.It happened that Ji Chong'er went into exile in Qin, and Ying Renhao married Huai Ying to Ji Chong'er again.Huaiying was originally Ji Chonger's niece and daughter-in-law. For political interests, Ji Chonger didn't care about the most honorable status of etiquette.Next year (before 637), Ji Yiwu passed away, and Ji Yu succeeded to the throne.In the next year (before 636), the powerful Qin State Corps escorted Ji Chong'er to cross the Yellow River and captured Jiangcheng (Shanxi Yicheng), the capital of Jin State, and Ji Yu was killed.Ji Chong'er came to the throne. He was sixty-two years old at this time, and he fled and wandered for twenty years since he was forty-three years old. Ji Chong'er is the entrepreneurial overlord of the second hegemony among the five tyrants. After the continuous turmoil in Jin, there was no such possibility.But not long after he became the king, he came across two opportunities - just like a Chinese proverb: "When good luck comes, no mountain can stop it." In the first week, a scandal broke out in the court of the kingdom. Zhai Hou, the wife of the 20th Wang Ji Zheng, had an affair with Ji Dai, Ji Zheng's younger brother, and was discovered by Ji Zheng.There are not many men who can't react violently to a green hat, let alone he is a king.Ji Zheng abolished Empress Di and wanted to arrest Ji Dai. Ji Dai fled to Di State (northwest of Jixian County, Shanxi). Take him to Luoyang to rescue the daughter in captivity.Ji Dai then captured Luoyang, made Empress Zhai the queen, and became king himself.Ji Zheng lost both his wife and his throne, and fled to Sicheng (Xiangcheng, Henan) in the state of Zheng in embarrassment. He was at a loss and his future was bleak.In the past, he could appeal to the overlord Jiang Xiaobai, but now that Jiang Xiaobai has passed away and there is no overlord, he is facing a desperate situation.Ji Chong'er quickly seized this opportunity and sent troops to serve the king.Ji Dai didn't guard against this surprise attack, so he was killed together with Queen Zhai, and Ji Zheng was restored. In the second year after the civil strife subsided in the Kingdom of the Second Week, the Kingdom of Chu led its allied forces to attack the State of Song.The state of Song begged for help from the state of Jin, which was a strong expression of respect for the overlord.Ji Chong'er is faced with a choice, this time the target is not the playboy Ji Dai, but the behemoth Kingdom of Chu.But if he flinches, he has to settle for the status of a second-rate country.Finally, he decided to send troops.In order to break the siege of Song State first, he took the initiative to attack Wei State (east of Hua County, Henan Province) and Cao State (Dingtao, Shandong Province), the eastern tails of Chu Kingdom.The two countries were originally the tail states of Qi State, but now they have become the tail states of Chu Kingdom. It can be seen that Chu Kingdom has developed rapidly in only nine years after Jiang Xiaobai's death. This kind of development can only be stopped by military victory.Cheng Dechen, the commander-in-chief of the Chu Corps, abandoned Song and went west to capture the main force of the Jin army.In 632 BC, the two countries fought a decisive battle in Chengpu (Shandong Juancheng).The Kingdom of Chu was defeated, and Cheng Dechen committed suicide.Historians call this decisive battle the "Battle of Chengpu". Since then, the hegemony of Jin State has been confirmed. Ji Chong'er died in 628 BC and reigned for only nine years, only one-fifth of Jiang Xiaobai's forty-three years.But after Jiang Xiaobai died and Ji Chonger died, the hegemony continued.Because Jiang Xiaobai relied on only one Guan Zhong, Guan Zhong and Guan Zhong's heirs died before Jiang Xiaobai.After Ji Chonger's death, a group of cadres who followed him in exile, the ruling group composed of six families called "Liuqing", has always existed stably.Therefore, Jin's hegemony is not like that of Qi, which will be broken when it falls.It is long-term, with repeated falls and rises. Although there are times of decline, it continues to recover. Short-term hegemony of the Five Qin Kingdoms The third hegemon among the five hegemons is Qin. The monarch Ying Renhao joined the international community earlier than Ji Chonger, but his death was after Ji Chonger. The next year after Ji Chong'er's death (627 BC), Ying Renhao ordered his commander-in-chief Baili Mengming to lead the elite Qin Corps to launch a surprise attack on Zheng Guo.It turned out that a small part of the army of Qin State was stationed in Zheng State to assist in the defense. They saw that Zheng State turned to Jin State for goodwill, and they were very jealous, so they secretly reported to the Qin government that they were keeping the key of Zheng State’s city gate. Annex Zheng Guo.However, this matter was extremely difficult at that time. The capital of Qin State Yongyi (Fengxiang, Shaanxi) and the capital of Zheng State Xinzheng (the former capital of Ji Xuanyuan of the Yellow Emperor Dynasty, Xinzheng, Henan), the air distance was 600 kilometers, and the road was full of poor mountains and bad waters. It takes more than 30 days to march in a hurry, and it is impossible to keep it completely secret. Sure enough, the Qin Corps arrived in Huaguo (southeast of Yanshi, Henan), which is 80 kilometers away from Zhengguo, and the news has spread.Xian Gao, a businessman from the state of Zheng, was driving a group of cattle to sell in Luoyang. Immediately, he pretended to be an envoy of the state of Zheng and drove the cattle to the barracks of the Qin army, claiming that he had come to reward the army under the order of the king of the state of Zheng.Baili Mengming was taken aback, so he had to falter and tell Xian Gao that his goal was not Zheng Guo but Hua Guo.To prove he wasn't lying, he raided the hapless country of Hua, wiped it out, and retreated. The tragedy happened on the way to retreat. From the west of Luoyang to the Guanzhong area, there is a mountain range of Xiaoshan that stretches 180 kilometers from east to west. The Hangu Pass in the world is the gate to the east of Qin State).The main peak of Xiaoshan mountain range is 1,850 meters, and the mountains below the peak are cracked with a line of cliffs. It is called "Xiaoshan Canyon" in the world. There is only one trail that can only accommodate one chariot. You can't see the bottom of the valley, and you can't see the sun above.The Qin Corps did not encounter obstacles when they attacked, but now they ambushed the Jin army.The 300 chariots and more than 3,000 brave soldiers of the Qin Corps were useless here, and the entire army was wiped out. If there is a country in the world that continues to help another country in distress with loyalty and loyalty, but is finally eaten back by viciousness, it is Qin State to Jin State.It was not only ungrateful, but also unwise for the Jin State to go abroad to invite attacks. Since then, it has formed a feud with the Qin State. This was a setback for Ying Renhao's hegemony. Fortunately, at the request of his mother-in-law Huaiying (Ying Renhao's daughter), Ji Huan released the captured senior generals below Baili Mengming before giving them to Qin. country a chance.Three years later (624 BC), Baili Mengming's army training was completed, and he retaliated against the Jin State, but the Jin State could not resist.Baili Mengming entered Xiaoshan again to bury the bodies of the slaughtered Qin soldiers.In the next few years, Qin State conquered as many as a dozen neighboring feudal states—the names of most of which could no longer be traced.Even the Quanrong tribe that drove the Zhou government to move eastward was wiped out, and the state of Qin expanded its territory to the west by 200 kilometers. However, Qin's hegemony was also short-lived.In 621 BC, Ying Renhao passed away, and the hegemony ended.This is the inevitable result of the exhaustion of talents.The state of Qin is located in a remote place, its rise was very late, its education is underdeveloped, its people's wisdom is blocked, and there are very few senior intellectuals.Yingren Haozhi was able to finally establish hegemony mainly because he appointed two prime ministers with administrative talents, Baili Xi and Jian Shu, but they were both foreigners and both died.Baili Mengming once recommended three senior intellectuals who were born in his own country: Che Yanxi, Che Zhongxing, and Che Xingxianhu. They are brothers, so they are called "the three good people of the Che family".After Ying Renhao's death, his heirs buried Baili Mengming and Che Jia Sanliang. This stupid measure brought Qin back to the ignorant era before Ying Renhao. Event of the Six Kingdoms of Chu Since the last century (the first eighth), the Kingdom of Chu broke into China's international community with a thunderous force, and eroded eastward and northward without stopping for a day. There were only two rebuffs. ) in the 1940s "Zhaoling Meeting" and once in the 1960s "Battle of Chengpu". ——It is a very strange phenomenon that the peoples in the northern frigid zone always develop towards the south, but the Kingdom of Chu and the kingdoms of Wu and Yue that rose later developed towards the north.Probably the north was highly developed at that time, and the bustling world was more attractive, so it was regarded as a daunting way to the wild Jiangnan. The two encounters were not fatal blows, and the strong national strength of the Chu Kingdom was fully restored soon.In 614 BC, the sixth Wang Koulu came to the throne and worked hard.Soon, civil strife broke out in the Jin Kingdom, and the monarch Ji Yigao was overly tyrannical and was killed by his ministers.This is the opportunity given to him by God, and he began to make his kingdom the fourth of the five hegemons, and it was a long-term hegemony.In 606 B.C., the couple finished their preparations and went on an expedition to the Rong tribe in Luhun (that is, the Songshan area, only 60 kilometers away from Luoyang) in the north. The king of Zhou showed his power, and the panic-stricken king Ji Yu hurriedly sent his minister Ji Man, carrying a large number of gifts, to inquire about the news.During the conversation, the mouth couple asked about the size of Jiuding.Jiuding is nine cauldrons with three legs.Cast in bronze, the most precious metal at that time, it is said that each tripod represents a state in the Xia Dynasty.The Zhou Dynasty held it as a credential for being the supreme ruler of China.I was just curious, but Ji Man immediately became nervous, and replied: "Although the Zhou government is weak, the Lord of Heaven still supports it. It is not appropriate to ask about the importance of Jiuding." Immediately, I found that he had touched the last nerve of this remnant regime. The weak link couldn't help laughing and said: "Please don't worry, I won't take your Jiuding. Just the hooks from the people of the Chu Kingdom are enough to cast the Jiuding." Such a noble Jiuding should be a national treasure among national treasures, but its ending was quite unexpected.Four centuries later, in the third century BC, Ji Yan, the last king of the Zhou Kingdom, was known as the "King of Shame" (King Nan).At that time, the country was smaller and the government was poorer. Ji Yan relied on borrowing from emerging businessmen to survive, and was heavily in debt and could not support it.He quietly melted Jiuding and sold them one after another to repay the debt.When the Kingdom of Zhou was destroyed by the Kingdom of Qin, Jiuding had already been sold off. seven east west world In 668 BC (four years before Jiang Xiaobai, the king of Qi State, rescued Yan State), Assyrian King Asayban Nepal ascended the throne, rebuilt the city of Nineveh, and established a large library. In 660 BC (the Di tribe captured Weiguo and ate Weichi, the king of Weiguo), the Japanese Empire was founded and Emperor Jimmu ascended the throne. In 650 BC (seven years before Jiang Xiaobai's death), Greece began to dominate politics. In 621 B.C. (Qin King Yingren Hao passed away and Che Jia Sanliang was buried), the Athenian Consul Deleke compiled a code of law and used cruel punishments. Stealing a handful of vegetables was punishable by death. This was called the "Blood Law" . In 612 B.C. (the sixth king of the Chu Kingdom reigned), the Semitic Chaldian tribe captured the city of Nineveh, and the Assyrian Empire fell.The ancient city of Babylon, the capital of Chaldea, was called the Post-Babylonian Empire. In 605 B.C. (the year after the king of the Zhou Kingdom), Nebuchadnezzar, the famous king of the later Babylonian Empire, came to the throne.